East India Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The English East India Company was an English and later (from 1707) East India Company British joint-stock company[1] formed for pursuing trade with the East Indies but which ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent. The East India Company traded mainly in cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium. The Company was granted a Royal Charter in 1600,[2] making it the oldest among several similarly formed European East India Companies. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and aristocrats. The government owned no shares and had only indirect control. The Company eventually came to rule large areas of India Company flag after 1801 with its own private army, exercising military power and assuming Former type Public administrative functions.[3] Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and lasted until 1858 when, following the Industry International trade Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the Fate Dissolved British Crown assuming direct control of India in the new British Raj. Founded 1600 The Company was dissolved in 1874 as a result of the East India Stock Defunct June 1, 1874 Dividend Redemption Act passed one year earlier, as the Government of India Act had by then rendered it vestigal, powerless and obsolete. Its Headquarters London, England functions had been fully absorbed into official government machinery in the British Raj and its private army had been nationalized by the British Colonial India Crown. In the modern era, its history is strongly associated with corporate abuse, colonialism, exploitation, and monopoly power. 1 Founding 2 Foothold in India 3 Expansion 3.1 Mughal convoy piracy incident of 1695 4 Forming a complete monopoly Imperial Entities of India 4.1 Trade monopoly 4.2 Saltpeter trade Colonial India 5 Basis for the monopoly Dutch India 1605–1825 5.1 Colonial monopoly 5.2 Military expansion Danish India 1620–1869 5.3 Opium trade French India 1759–1954 6 Regulation of the company's affairs 6.1 Writers Portuguese India 1510–1961 6.2 Financial troubles Casa da Índia 1434–1833 6.3 Regulating Acts of Parliament 7 Indian Rebellion of 1857 Portuguese East India Company 1628–1633 8 Establishments in Britain British India 1613–1947 9 Legacy 10 Flags East India Company 1612–1757 11 Ships Company rule in India 1757–1857 12 Records 13 See also British Raj 1858–1947 14 References 1824–1942 15 External links British rule in Burma 1 of 17 Fri 15-Jun-12 12:43 AM East India Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company 1765–1947/48 Partition of India 1947 Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean.[4] The permission was granted and in 1591 three ships sailed from England around the Cape of Good Hope to the Arabian Sea. One of them, the Edward Bonventure, then sailed around Cape Comorin and on to the Malay Peninsula and subsequently returned to England in 1594.[4] In 1596, three more ships sailed east; however, these were all lost at sea.[4] Two years later, on 24 September 1598, another group of merchants having raised £30,133 in capital, met in London to form a corporation. Although their first attempt was not completely successful, they nonetheless sought the Queen's unofficial approval, purchased ships for their venture, increased their capital to £68,373, and convened again a year later.[4] Sir James Lancaster commanded the This time they succeeded, and on 31 December 1600, the Queen granted a Royal Charter to "George, Earl of Cumberland, and 215 Knights, Aldermen, and Burgesses" first East India Company voyage in under the name, Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading with the 1601 East Indies.[5] For a period of fifteen years the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan.[5] Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601.[6] Initially, the Company struggled in the spice trade due to the competition from the already well established Dutch East India Company. The Company opened a factory in Bantam on the first voyage and imports of pepper from Java were an important part of the Company's trade for twenty years. The factory in Bantam was closed in 1683. During this time ships belonging to the company arriving in India docked at Surat, which was established as a trade transit point in 1608. In the next two years, the Company built its first factory in south India in the town of Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The high profits reported by the Company after landing in India initially prompted King James I to grant subsidiary licenses to other trading companies in England. But in 1609 he renewed the charter given to the Company for an indefinite period, including a clause which specified that the charter would cease to be in force if the trade turned unprofitable for three consecutive years. The Company was led by one Governor and 24 directors, who made up the Court of Directors. They, in turn, reported to the Court of Proprietors which appointed them. Ten committees reported to the Court of Directors. See also: Establishment of English Trade in Bengal (1600-1700) English traders frequently engaged in hostilities with their Dutch and Portuguese counterparts in the Indian Ocean. The Company achieved a major victory over the Portuguese in the Battle of Swally in 1612. The Company decided to explore the feasibility of gaining a territorial foothold in mainland India, with official sanction of both countries, and requested that the Crown launch a diplomatic mission.[7] In 1612, Sir Thomas Roe was instructed by James I to visit the Mughal Emperor Nuruddin Salim Jahangir (r. 1605 - 1627) to arrange for a commercial treaty which would give the Company exclusive rights to reside and build factories in Surat and other areas. In return, the Company offered to provide the Emperor with goods and rarities from the European market. This mission was highly successful as Jahangir sent The Red Dragon fought the a letter to James through Sir Thomas Roe:[7] Portuguese at the Battle of Swally in 2 of 17 Fri 15-Jun-12 12:43 AM East India Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company Upon which assurance of your royal love I 1612, and made several voyages to the have given my general command to all the East Indies. kingdoms and ports of my dominions to receive all the merchants of the English nation as the subjects of my friend; that in what place soever they choose to live, they may have free liberty without any restraint; and at what port soever they shall arrive, that neither Portugal nor any other shall dare to molest their quiet; and in what city soever they shall have residence, I have commanded all my governors and captains to give them freedom answerable to their own desires; to sell, buy, and to transport into their country at their pleasure. For confirmation of our love and friendship, I desire your Majesty to command your merchants to bring in their ships of all sorts of rarities and rich goods fit for my palace; and that you be pleased to send me your royal letters by every opportunity, that I may rejoice in your health and prosperous affairs; that our friendship may be interchanged and eternal. Jahangir investing a courtier with a The Company, benefiting from the imperial robe of honour watched by Sir Thomas patronage, soon expanded its commercial Roe, English ambassador to the court trading operations, eclipsing the Portuguese of Jahangir at Agra from 1615-18, and Estado da India, which had established bases others in Goa, Chittagong and Bombay (which was later ceded to England as part of the dowry of Catherine de Braganza). The Company created trading posts in Surat (where a factory was built in 1612), Madras (1639), Bombay (1668), and Calcutta (1690). By 1647, the Company had 23 factories, each under the command of a factor or master merchant and governor if so chosen, and had 90 employees in India. The major factories became View of East India House the walled forts of Fort William in Bengal, Fort St George in Madras, and the Bombay Castle. In 1634, the Mughal emperor extended his hospitality to the English traders to the region of Bengal, and in 1717 completely waived customs duties for the trade. The company's mainstay businesses were by then in cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpetre and tea. The Company's bright future, however, was rudely braked by the signing of the Treaty of Münster in 1648, which freed the Netherlands from Spanish control allowing it to turn its full attention to expanding its trade both in home and distant waters[8] and enter a period recognised as Holland's 'Golden Age'. The Dutch were aggressive competitors, and had meanwhile expanded their monopoly of the spice trade in the Malaccan straits by ousting the Portuguese in 1640-41. With reduced Portuguese and Spanish influence in the region, the EIC and Dutch East India Company (VOC) entered a period of intense competition, resulting in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. Meanwhile, in 1657, Oliver Cromwell renewed the charter of 1609, and brought about minor changes in the holding of the Company.